IRVING, Texas—La Quinta Holdings Inc., owner, operator, and franchisor of La Quinta Inns & Suites hotels, announced it has signed franchise agreements for new hotels in Nicaragua and Guatemala, marking the company’s entry into those countries.
“Our entry into these two new Central American markets reflects the strength of La Quinta in Latin America and our ability to deliver on this growth objective,” remarked Wayne Goldberg, president and CEO of La Quinta. “We see tremendous opportunities for ongoing franchise growth internationally given our existing infrastructure and established brand history.”
The company has signed franchise agreements for three new hotels to be constructed in Managua, Nicaragua, Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The hotels are slated to be under construction by early 2015.
“We are excited to expand our relationship with La Quinta, who has proven to be a highly committed, reliable franchise partner, providing us great support in developing our Honduras hotel,” stated Elvin Santos, the principal in La Quinta’s previously announced Honduras project and the new Nicaragua project, who is also participating in the Guatemala projects. “Our past experience working together with La Quinta made our decision to move forward with new projects in Nicaragua and Guatemala that much easier.”
As part of La Quinta’s continued international expansion, the company previously announced that it will also be opening franchised hotels in Honduras and Colombia. The hotel in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is a nine-story modern style building with 112 rooms slated to open in late 2014 or early 2015. The hotel in Medellin, Colombia, is expected to open in 2015.
La Quinta has expanded its franchise system by approximately three times since 2006. The company continues to expand domestically and internationally as demonstrated by the 190 projects in its franchise pipeline.
